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<title>Relax by Fedora Of Adorableness (TheTimelessChild0)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28512705">Relax</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTimelessChild0/pseuds/Fedora%20Of%20Adorableness'>Fedora Of Adorableness (TheTimelessChild0)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>White Collar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Caring Peter Burke, Comraderie, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s01e01 Pilot, Fluff and Humor, Protective Peter Burke, Sad Neal Caffrey, cuteness, vulnerable neal caffrey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:40:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>926</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28512705</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTimelessChild0/pseuds/Fedora%20Of%20Adorableness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal does <i>not</i> meditate.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Peter Burke &amp; Neal Caffrey</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>40</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Relax</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>It just occurred to me to present a possible origin of Neal's rubber band ball ^^</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Neal looked like he was about to say something, but an expression on his handler’s face told him to keep quiet for a while. Then he spoke.</p><p> </p><p>“You can’t exactly blame me for wanting <em> better </em> conditions than in prison,” he pointed out. </p><p> </p><p>“No...but you could’ve gone about it differently. You could’ve given me more precise reasons for not wanting to stay at the motel,” Peter rebutted.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, is that it, no problem! The lobby was full of flies, the whole place should’ve been shut down by the CDC and maybe the DEA, there was a dog on my bed and <em> cockroaches </em> in the bathroom,” he rattled off.</p><p> </p><p>Burke was well and truly gobsmacked. </p><p> </p><p>“Okay. That’s fair. I didn’t know that. Why didn’t you say that yesterday instead of just whining about it?” </p><p> </p><p>“You’re my boss, I didn’t want to seem ungrateful for the opportunity you gave me,” Caffrey explained quietly.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s a habit you gotta learn to shake, sonny. In the FBI, we communicate our various grievances,” Peter instructed.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll take that into consideration,”</p><p> </p><p>Neal continued his selective mutism. </p><p> </p><p>In truth, he was invested in his thoughts. Thoughts of Kate, of all the ways he could break free from his chains. He never would, of course. He was smarter than that. He wasn’t an idiot, although he was arrested twice. It wasn’t as frustrating as he’d expected, passing by potential targets of crime whilst not having the slightest desire to be the one to commit them. He’d chalk this up to being reformed, if it weren’t for the fact that he had never felt more insecure in his current situation. </p><p> </p><p>He felt trapped. Tortured by the knowledge that this was the only way to find Kate. He had to let her come to him. At the same time, he felt it was hopeless. She was long gone by now, and he had no means of contacting her. He couldn’t even remember her old number, let alone how to work out her new one. Sure, he could always ask Mozzie when he inevitably shows up again, but it was a lost cause as long as there was the slightest chance she was outside the country. That meant in all likelihood that the number would’ve been spoofed through various countries. Tracing it would take time. Time he wasn’t sure he had. Or was willing to wait out.</p><p> </p><p>Without realising it, Neal had grown fidgety, visibly anxious. His hands were flopping about, fiddling with themselves, and then his thighs. His index fingers were drawing rings on top of the smooth black fabric.</p><p> </p><p><em> It wasn’t all that surprising to the agent </em>. He’d just ran after the love of his life, only to find a bitter reminder of the life they were supposed to have before he went inside. No one bounces back that fast from a broken heart. Whatever was going on inside his head, it was not easing his nerves in the slightest. </p><p> </p><p>The con man spotted the pair of eyes peeled on him and folded his arms casually. The tips of his fingers continued to fiddle with the edge of his belt, underneath it, the loops, and eventually his seatbelt. Peter cleared his throat to dissuade the youngest man from that last activity.</p><p> </p><p>He immensely wished he had a stress-ball for his new friend. Pent up frustration seeped out of his ears and struck his tendons with concentrated force. He could do nothing but pity the man.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>In the airport was a gift shop. It sold a great many trinkets, including things you could squeeze and jiggle and toss around. Among those was a rubber band ball. <em> Perfect </em>, he thought. For the tortured genius in your life, one needs something more intricate than processed plush.</p><p> </p><p>He kept it in his coat, covertly hidden until they returned to his Taurus. When they did, he discreetly dropped it in Caffrey’s seat.</p><p> </p><p>Neal barely felt it as he sat down, mostly trying to ignore the way the bottom of his suit was undoubtedly being wrinkled by the ridges of the leather. He felt a bump he had very much <em> not </em>anticipated and reached behind himself. He promptly located the object responsible.</p><p> </p><p>“Rubber-band ball,” he remarked curiously.</p><p> </p><p>“Call it a peace offering,” Peter supplied lightly.</p><p> </p><p>Neal chuckled “Thanks,”</p><p> </p><p>He smiled surreptitiously at the sight of his CI tossing the ball back and forth, testing its properties. His neatly trimmed nails were gently inserted between the lines, counting the bands in his head.</p><p> </p><p>“How many do you think there are?” Neal asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I have absolutely no idea,”</p><p> </p><p>Caffrey scrutinised the item with intense precision.</p><p> </p><p>Diameter, density, length of the band, probability of all the bands having been extended completely as they were wrapped around each other...</p><p> </p><p>“2748,” he presented his statistical analysis. </p><p> </p><p>Peter knew this number was correct. “I see,” the agent kept his level of awe beneath the surface. Unfortunately, the smirk in the passenger side of the car suggested it was more than obvious. So be it.</p><p> </p><p>Neal’s tricks flipped the ball off the palm of his hand and onto the floor.</p><p> </p><p>“Careful, don’t drop the 2748 rubber bands,” he quipped.</p><p> </p><p>“I won’t. Besides, you’ll be able to find them again, right?” Caffrey asked, smiling innocently.</p><p><br/>“As long as I don’t have to look for <em> you </em>,” Peter accepted the bargain.</p><p> </p><p>Neal put the ball back in his pocket, twirling it around from the outside.</p><p> </p><p>He wouldn’t need to look for them. He’d order all the spares he could afford online, as soon as he got home. </p><p> </p><p>Anything for his partner.</p>
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